Back in the mid-1980's, Philips issued recordings of pianist Jean Louis
Steuerman performing Bach's six Partitas for Harpsichord, the French
Overture in B minor, the Four Duets, and the Italian Concerto in F major.
I remember the time of the releases and the reviews which were not very
complimentary.  Good reviews or not, Philips decided to reissue these
performances in 1997 as part of it's DUO series.  I've seen this set
in the stores off and on and finally decided to give it a try as I have
become quite skeptical lately of Bach recording reviews in the periodicals.
The catalog number for this 2-cd set is 456 068.

I'll get to the positives first.  Steuerman is always lyrical, poetic,
sensitive, tasteful, and pleasureable.  These are not performances that
anyone would tend to 'hate'; there's nothing in them to offend.  I think
that many listeners would find Steurerman a delight from start to finish.
He might be a good candidate to be selected Bach's Troubadour or Goodwill
Ambassador.  If there was a Bach "Pop" 40, quite a few of Steurerman's
performances would likely grace the list.

But it that all that Bach has to give to us? Steuerman offers us
"emotionally correct" Bach - not too much of this, not too much of
that.  "Depth" is a concept that Steuerman consistently avoids.  With
little exception, this lack of depth is in every movement where it has
significance.  "Edge" is a location that Steuerman never enters.  "Power"
is approached only when there is no other avenue to take, and "urgency"
always takes a back seat to flow.  Also, Steurerman can be quite cloying
at times as in the first Partita's Menuet II.  This is all one-dimensional
Bach, although it is presented quite well by Steurerman.  He probably does
best in the quick/cheerful movements having the least depth.

Don's Conclusions:  I don't think the Steuerman discs would hold any appeal
to a seasoned collector who already has some superb recordings of the
works contained on the two CD's; there's just nothing on them to hold the
attention.  In a way, the set is even worse for novice buyers.  They will
think they are listening to the real thing, and they will be wrong.

Don Satz
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